Photo: Goodwood Festival of Speed
Harley-Davidson has settled with the EPA after it was accused of violating the Clean Air Act. Unlike Volkswagen’s Dieselgate, the accusations made to Harley-Davidson have appeared because of an aftermarket component manufactured by the company, which has been sold and installed at dealers, while the stock motorcycles had no issues.
In other words, Harley-Davidson has decided to settle with the EPA and pay a $12 million civil penalty, along with a $3 million forced investment in a program that mitigates air pollution through the replacement of conventional wood stoves with clean-burning stoves in local communities.
As we noted in the lead, Harley-Davidson motorcycles did not violate the Clean Air Act per se, but the manufacturer is accused of selling an optional device as an upgrade, which the EPA had found that raised emissions.
Approximately 340,000 of those devices were manufactured and sold, but Harley-Davidson insists that the component was designed for competition use only, but has decided to pay the fine regardless and focus on building and selling bikes.
Another problem uncovered by the EPA was related to the manufacture and sale of more than 12,000 motorcycles that were not duly certified by the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure they met the Clean Air Standards enforced by the authority. For the two issues, Harley-Davidson was accused of violating the Clean Air Act.
The device that caused all these problems is a factory-designed upgrade called Pro Super Tuner. It lets users modify fuel flow to adjust the air-fuel mixture accordingly after fitting a different air intake and exhaust to their bikes. Since more fuel is burned, pollution is increased, and the values reached exceeded those allowed by the EPA.
Unlike Volkswagen, Harley-Davidson’s stock products had no issues with the EPA. H-D's device was described as being designed for “competition use,” and the motorcycle manufacturer had explained that it increases emissions, thus not making it suitable for public roads.
Furthermore, Harley-Davidson will stop selling the device in question, marketed as the Pro Super Tuner, by August 23, 2016. All dealers that stocked the device will be offered to sell the devices back to Harley-Davidson, which will be obligated to destroy all the elements in question.
Moreover, Harley-Davidson has also pledged to test any tuner-equipped motorcycles it sells before they reach customers.
As we noted in the lead, Harley-Davidson motorcycles did not violate the Clean Air Act per se, but the manufacturer is accused of selling an optional device as an upgrade, which the EPA had found that raised emissions.
Approximately 340,000 of those devices were manufactured and sold, but Harley-Davidson insists that the component was designed for competition use only, but has decided to pay the fine regardless and focus on building and selling bikes.
Another problem uncovered by the EPA was related to the manufacture and sale of more than 12,000 motorcycles that were not duly certified by the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure they met the Clean Air Standards enforced by the authority. For the two issues, Harley-Davidson was accused of violating the Clean Air Act.
The device that caused all these problems is a factory-designed upgrade called Pro Super Tuner. It lets users modify fuel flow to adjust the air-fuel mixture accordingly after fitting a different air intake and exhaust to their bikes. Since more fuel is burned, pollution is increased, and the values reached exceeded those allowed by the EPA.
Unlike Volkswagen, Harley-Davidson’s stock products had no issues with the EPA. H-D's device was described as being designed for “competition use,” and the motorcycle manufacturer had explained that it increases emissions, thus not making it suitable for public roads.
Furthermore, Harley-Davidson will stop selling the device in question, marketed as the Pro Super Tuner, by August 23, 2016. All dealers that stocked the device will be offered to sell the devices back to Harley-Davidson, which will be obligated to destroy all the elements in question.
Moreover, Harley-Davidson has also pledged to test any tuner-equipped motorcycles it sells before they reach customers.
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